India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has dismissed 11 officials and taken disciplinary action against another 11 following a series of structural failures involving 19 national highway projects over the past two years.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari disclosed the action in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament, on July 29.
The affected projects included newly built bridges, flyovers and highways that experienced collapses, cave-ins and major structural defects during 2025 and 2026.
Among the projects was the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, a flagship infrastructure project championed by Gadkari. Seven of the 19 failed projects were located in the southern state of Kerala.
On July 1, two large potholes appeared on the newly opened Delhi-Dehradun Expressway near Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, less than three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially inaugurated the route.
Videos of the damaged highway quickly spread across social media, with several motorists reporting damage to their vehicles after hitting the potholes.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) blamed the damage on water accumulation following the first monsoon rains, compounded by delays in completing a permanent drainage system due to local objections and unresolved land disputes.
The authority issued show-cause notices to the project director, supervising engineer and construction contractor, while several senior officials involved in the project were suspended. The damaged section was repaired and reopened within days.
In Kerala, a 250-metre elevated section of National Highway 66 collapsed in Malappuram in May 2025 after the foundation soil failed to support the embankment.
Following the incident, NHAI dismissed the site engineer, suspended the project director and ordered contractor KNR Constructions to rebuild the structure at its own expense, estimated at INR800 million (US$8.4 million).
The contractor also faces a proposed fine of INR118 million (US$1.24 million) and has been barred from bidding for new projects for up to one year. Design and safety consultants involved in the project were also issued notices.
Elsewhere, an eight-foot-wide hole developed on a bridge deck along the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Gujarat, while additional surface failures were reported in Rajasthan and Gujarat following heavy rainfall.
Contractors responsible for defective work have been penalised under their agreements, including financial penalties, contract termination, suspension from future tenders, blacklisting and classification as non-performing contractors.
Gadkari said the 11 dismissed officials were removed following performance evaluations, while the remaining officials faced disciplinary action for negligence and failure to carry out their duties properly.
